May 15
"Come and have breakfast." John 21:12.
God's suddenlies become our serendipities. Webster's Dictionary gives the definition of
serendipity: "[Coined by Horace Walpole...after his tale The Three Princes of
Serendip (i.e., Ceylon), who made such discoveries.] An apparent aptitude for making
fortunate discoveries accidentally."
In his book, The Road Less Traveled, author M. Scott Peck, in his section on The Miracle
of Serendipity (pp.253260), maintains that this is really grace: "...Grace,
manifested in part by `valuable or agreeable things not sought for,' is available to
everyone, but that while some take advantage of it, others do not...Let me suggest that
one of the reasons we fail to take advantage of grace is that we are not fully aware of
its presence that is, we don't find valuable things not sought for, because we fail to
appreciate the value of the gift when it is given us.'" (Page 25758.)
Surely Jesus' invitation to the weary disciples was an unexpected grace, a serendipity.
Come, dine with Me! He asks their companionship and is ready to provide their needs. Here
is the sacrament and the ultimate union. Jesus treated His beloved as His friends. He did
not demand that they come and serve Him, nor did He tell them to go off to the side and
eat; instead, He served them and ate with them. What a glorious testament and
truth and
treatment!
"...How much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man,
Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!" Romans 5:15. Yes, many graces
serendipities overflow in our daily life, but we won't find them unless we are tuned
in to God's love, and unless we are most grateful for His providence. We can view
providence as either fate or foresight; providence is the gift of the awareness of His
many gifts!
Pat Nordman ©
Excerpts from today's Spurgeon's Devotions |
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"All that believe are justified" - Acts 13:39
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"Made perfect." - Hebrews 12:23 |
We are to-day accepted in the Beloved, to-day absolved from sin, to-day acquitted at the bar of God. Oh! soul-transporting thought! |
Yet let not the hope of perfection hereafter make us content with imperfection now. If it does this, our hope cannot be genuine; for a good hope is a purifying thing, even now. The work of grace must be abiding in us now or it cannot be perfected then. |
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Current Bible Question ?
The prophet Agabus took what article of Paul's to demonstrate how Paul would be bound and turned over to the Gentiles?
Previous question and Answer:
Who was struck dumb by the Lord and was then only able to speak when the Lord gave him something to say?
Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:25-27)
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..and by his light I walked through darkness! JOB 29:3 NIV
Law of Accountability by Pat Nordman
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I remark, then, that a man is overcome of evil -
In Romans 12 Paul is more concerned with our responsibilities than
our rights. There is a law of accountability that presupposes obligations to our brothers
and sisters, for we are not islands unto ourselves. If someone has done what we consider
wrongdoing, we do not have the right to make their wrong our right to avenge, for only God
can assess motivations. We do have a responsibility to keep our own heart right in
relation to that person. We should be on our knees with words of love for the person
instead of words of anger and gossip on our tongues, making the situation much worse. "Do not return evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary bless. . ." 1 Peter 3:9 RSV. There are times when this seems impossible! Ask Jesus to stand between you and the one who has hurt you; let Him be your Filter. |
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Send a note to © Pat Nordman , the writer of this devotion |
More Walking Through the Darkness
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